Episode IV-VIII Sacrifice
Episode IV-VIII Sacrifice is the twenty-sixth episode of the Anime adaptation. It is also the last episode of the Alliance of the Golden Witch adaptation and the final episode of the anime overall. Synopsis Ange heads to the Golden Land to reunite Maria with Sakutaro and convince Beatrice to return to the game. Soon after, Battler regains his will to fight and engages Beatrice in a final logic battle. Even though this is the end, Beatrice still has a few more tricks up her sleeve. Plot Summary First Half Beatrice drinks tea in the Golden Land, golden butterflies floating around as Maria sees that Ange has arrived. Beatrice is surprised to see her there; Ange wants her to continue the game, but Beato has grown tired of it and doesn't plan to return. Ange pleads with her to finish what she's started, but Maria says that Beato's going to stay with her forever, where all her wishes can be granted. Ange tells her that the Golden Land can't grant Maria's greatest wish, but she won't hear it; Maria tries to disprove her by creating a clone of Rosa, one who won't hit and abuse her. Ange then asks about Sakutaro, and Maria becomes intrigued while Beatrice tells her to be quiet. Ange reminds Maria that Sakutaro was her greatest friend, but Rosa tore him apart; Maria screams in anguish as Beatrice tells her to stop reopening Maria's old wounds. Ange asks Beato why she wouldn't revive Sakutaro, and she says that it's impossible; she tries to give a reason but Ange cuts her off, saying the real reason is because Beato isn't a real witch. Ange then proclaims that she can revive Sakutaro, but under one condition: Maria must leave the Golden Land. Maria accepts, and Beatrice expresses disbelief in Ange's powers, thinking she can't do it. Ange beckons Sakutaro to remember his form, and recreates him as a stuffed animal. Maria runs and hugs Sakutaro, ecstatic that he's come back; Sakutaro tells her that he's alright. As Beatrice falls to the ground defeated, Maria praises Ange and acknowledges her as a Great Witch who can use real magic. Maria and Sakutaro transform into butterflies and disappear, and the Golden Land falls apart to reveal the metaworld again. Beatrice laments having to sit in her chair again, thinking it'll be this way for all eternity; Ange reminds her that that's her role as the game master. Lambdadelta appears, saying that she can't escape again. Beato says that even if she wanted to fight, she has no opponent; Bernkastel appears too, having brought Battler back from oblivion. Bern notes that Battler also cannot escape the game, not until he defeats Beato. She asks if he agrees, but Battler doesn't respond; he's still comatose from his identity crisis. Ange brings up the red truth saying that Battler Ushiromiya is not Asumu Ushiromiya's child, which Beatrice interpreted as Battler being unfit to be her opponent. Ange asks her to repeat "Battler Ushiromiya is not Kinzo Ushiromiya's grandchild" in red, but Beato doesn't repeat it. Ange then offers her own blue truth: the one qualified to be Beato's opponent must be Kinzo's grandchild, Battler Ushiromiya. But it doesn't matter whether he's Asumu's son or not. Bern asks her to counter it with red; if she can't, then Battler is still qualified. Battler shows a small twinge of emotion, and Ange goes up to him, telling him that even if Asumu didn't give birth to him, she was still a mother to him; bonds are more important than blood when it comes to family. She begs for him to remember, and Battler starts to show signs of life. Ange then reminds him of his little sister who'swaiting for him to come home and will always be alone if he doesn't. As soon as he hears this, Battler stands up, remembering Ange. Bern and Lambda see that his soul is slowly coming back, but isn't quite there yet. Ange hugs Battler from behind, finally revealing her true identity. She tearfully asks Battler to come back home, saying how she's all alone in the future. Battler is surprised to see that his sister was with him the entire time, and Ange explains that in her world, no one came home from Rokkenjima; Battler is the only one who can defeat Beatrice and save his family. Bern and Lambda note that Battler's soul has come back completely, but Bern reveals the one rule Ange couldn't break: she had to hide her true identity from him. Ange starts bleeding everywhere, lamenting that she can't be with him anymore; she begs for Battler to defeat the witch and come home before disappearing, her bloody hair ornaments left behind. While Battler couldn't see what happened, Beatrice says that Ange's flesh was torn off her body as she was still alive. Battler cuts her off, announcing his final resolve to defeat her and win the game; he isn't going to run away anymore. Beatrice notes how she can't run away either, and accepts his challenge. Both of them express their desire to win. Second Half/Tea Party The time is 23:59. Battler and Beatrice stand opposite each other in a rose garden. Battler aims to solve every game from the beginning, using his theory that Kinzo Ushiromiya is already dead when the game starts. Therefore, the true number of people on the island is 17, adding the unknown person X to become 18. Because Person X exists, it's possible for them to commit crimes even if all 17 people have alibis. Beatrice explains that there's one riddle his theory doesn't cover, bringing up George, Gohda, and Shannon's death in the second game. The key to Natsuhi's room was inside the room, and every other key was in Rosa's possession; it's impossible for Culprit X to construct this closed room. Battler thinks Rosa was an accomplice, giving a key to Culprit X through some method and got it back. Battler moves on to the third game, theorizing that the closed room chain can be explained if Eva is an accomplice, and that Nanjo's murder can be explained with the 18th person X. Battler then states his theory for the fourth game, that the 18th person X went wild with a gun and murdered George, Jessica, and those who escaped from the dungeon. Beatrice challenges his use of the 18th person X and how it only works if Kinzo is already dead; she showed Kinzo in front of everyone in the fourth game to discourage him from using it, noting how every member of the family acknowledged Kinzo's existence. A ghostly Kinzo then appears in front of Beato, mocking Battler for thinking that he could beat him before transforming into a giant dragon. The Kinzo dragon prepares to eat Battler, but he adds on to his "Kinzo is dead" theory for the fourth game: "Kinzo Ushiromiya is already dead, but someone inherited his name and everyone acknowledged it. In this way, everyone at the family acknowledged the existence of Kinzo." The dragon rears back, surprised at Battler's theory; he then asks to repeat "none of the characters possess a variety of different names" in red. It doesn't happen, and Kinzo is torn apart by dozens of blue stakes, disappearing. Beatrice looks to be at a disadvantage, but continues nonetheless; Battler goes on to state that every other death in the fourth game can be explained with the 18th person X. He claims checkmate, and Beato is impaled by a massive blue stake. She asks him to finish her off quickly, wanting him to say "therefore, witches don't exist". Battler rejects her, wanting to take victory by force; he knows Beato has more moves hidden up her sleeve. The witch cackles, saying that he'll regret not killing her here. Beatrice destroys the blue stake impaling her, confirming that Kinzo is indeed dead by the time the games begin and that no more than 17 humans exist on this island. No 18th person exists. This applies to all games. Now that Kinzo and 18th person X have been denied, Beatrice itches to see what Battler can come up with, restarting with the first game. She says that with the murders in the tool shed, anyone without an alibi could do it. She also confirms that with the murders of Genji, Kumasawa, and Nanjo in the parlor, each death was a homicide and Maria, who was in the same room, didn't kill them; Battler theorizes that someone with a fake corpse did it. He also suggests simultaneous murders: Genji, Kumasawa, and Nanjo killed each other with guns and Maria hid them. Beatrice is taken aback by how ridiculous that theory is, but accepts it nonetheless. She hands victory of the first game to Battler, and a blue stake wedges itself in her shoulder. They move on to the second game. Battler suggests that for the six murdered in the chapel, someone put small bombs in their food, which exploded in their stomachs; in other words, the culprit used "trap X" to kill them. Beatrice laughs even harder at this theory, and another stake lodges itself in Beatrice's chest; she hands over the second game. Battler asks if it hurts, and Beato remarks that she's just getting started. With the third game, Battler theorizes that the culprit killed all six people and constructed the closed rooms, then pretended to discover the bodies and find the keys. Another stake impales Beatrice, making her cough up so much blood that she can barely stand. Battler finally moves on to Nanjo's murder, stating how it's Beato's last line of defense as a witch. He claims that someone in the early part of the game played dead, waiting for them to leave. During the time their death was unconfirmed by red, they murdered Nanjo; afterwards, they died for some reason, and then EVA-Beatrice confirmed their deaths in red. Battler presents it as his final theory, and a massive blue stake erupts from the ground, impaling Beatrice and lifting her up high. Beatrice moans in agony, with Battler telling her to know the pain of those she's killed. She looks down at him, wearily saying that she still can't die yet. She wants Battler to free her from her anguish, and decides to "expose her heart". Battler asks what she means by this; she wants him to crush her heart and let her die. Battler accepts and Beato thanks him, slumping over. Her body glows with golden light, and her soul emerges, alighting in front of Battler. She tells Battler that right now, no one exists on this island except for him. He is the only one alive on this island, but Beatrice is there, now, and is about to kill him. Her final riddle: "who am I?" Battler swears that he will solve it and kill her, and the ending theme plays. ???? Bernkastel and Lambdadelta are lying in a bed, commenting on how thrilling this game was, with Lambda complimenting Ange for being a good piece. Bern says that Ange was just a tool needed to keep Battler on track, finding her a waste for how much preparation it required. Bern then questions Battler's theories, and Lambda says all of his blue truths were wrong; Lambda could've easily cut them to pieces. They still look forward to seeing Beatrice's game, thinking she still has some moves left over and none of the riddles were truly solved. As they wonder how the game will end, Bern remarks that it won't end with Beato's victory. The two of them then declare, Bernkastel as the Witch of Miracles, and Lambda as the Witch of Certainty, that Beatrice cannot win and a miracle will not occur. The anime ends with a panning shot of seagulls flying as Rokkenjima comes into view. Soundtrack Trivia *In chess, a sacrifice is a move where you lose one of your pieces in exchange for an enemy piece. Category:Anime Category:Anime Episode